


The only obstacle

by S_Horne



Series: Stony September AUs [19]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Getting Together, M/M, working together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 11:10:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16039283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_Horne/pseuds/S_Horne
Summary: There's a rule. 'NO dating within the department'. Steve is a big believer of rules.





	The only obstacle

**Author's Note:**

> 19\. Work colleagues

“Boo.”

Steve jumped half a mile in the air and glared at Tony as he cackled wickedly.

“Was that really necessary?” he asked, watching Tony walking round to sit down opposite him.

“Nah, probably not,” Tony admitted with a smile, “but I just couldn’t resist.”

“You’re a jerk.”

“And you owe me a report,” Tony countered with a shrug. “S’why I’m here, actually. Do you have a copy? I need the remittances as well.”

Steve nodded and leant forward to ruffle thorough papers in his letter tray. “Yeah,” he said as he pulled out stapled sheets, “yeah, I’ve got copies. And the originals are in the filing cabinet over there if you needed those too.”

Tony beamed as he took the paperwork from Steve. “You’re amazing. Really, really just the best.”

Steve sighed as he watched Tony walk away from his desk, only jolting out of his daze when he received a swift smack to the back of his head.

“What?” Steve turned to stare at Bucky with a wounded expression, scowling when Bucky rolled his eyes.

“You’re so smitten. Always so out of it whenever he so much as walks past.”

Which… yeah, okay. That was true. There wasn’t much of a defence that Steve could give to that. He did have a bit of a crush on the other man, but who could blame him? There was something about Tony that just dragged people in, like moths to a flame. He had sort of magnetism that Steve couldn’t resist, something unnatural and without explanation.

They had been working together for about two years now, getting closer and closer each month until they couldn’t go a single day without talking to each other. They spent their lunch breaks together and sought each other out to grab coffee, bringing breakfasts in for the other on busy mornings and sharing their loads of paperwork.

“You should go for it,” Bucky said and Steve looked at him in confusion. “Tony,” he clarified, “you should ask him out.”

Steve shook his head and dropped his gaze to his desk, reaching out to fiddle with the loose paperclips and elastic bands. He really needed to buy some sort of pot for them, he reminded himself.

“I can’t ask him out,” Steve said, “we work together. And he’s a manager in this department. I’m pretty sure there’s a rule about that.”

Bucky’s eyebrows scrunched together. “He’s not a – Steve, wait. He isn’t–”

The phone on Steve’s desk started to ring and Steve grimaced at Bucky, tilting his head to signal to his friend to leave. Bucky did so, but he scribbled on a piece of paper and pushed it over to Steve. Nodding in acknowledgment, Steve took it and tucked it under his keyboard to read after his phone call as he picked up the receiver.

/

“Did you read it?”

Steve looked up when Bucky slid into the seat next to him. “Huh? Oh, your note? No, I forgot. Sorry.”

Bucky opened his mouth to say more before Steve twisted his head and looked around the meeting curiously. “Hey, where’s Tony? He’s gotten so much better at skipping meetings lately; I really thought he’d be here.”

“Steve, Tony’s been–”

Just as Steve turned his gaze on Bucky with wide eyes, the meeting started and Steve forgot his friend to look up at Coulson standing at the front of the room calling everyone to attention.

 

Steve walked out of the meeting with his head buried in his notes, re-reading the scribbles he had taken as Coulson had been talking. He loved his job, but damn, was it stressful. Bucky managed well enough and Steve was forever envious. Steve was the sort of guy that panicked when the slightest thing went wrong and more often than not was struck with a random work-related thought in the middle of the night.

Right. So he needed to send an email to one company to chase and ring someone else – that company was notorious for ignoring emails so it had to be a phone call. He also needed to put an order on…

Just as he was going over his to-do list in his head, Bucky nudged him and he looked up with a question on his face.

“Yeah?”

Bucky didn’t say anything in reply, just nodded down the hallway. Steve followed his friend’s eye line to Tony.

“Hi!” Steve abandoned his mental to-do list and thrust his notebook into Bucky’s stomach before heading down the corridor, drawing level with Tony. “Where were you?”

“What?” Tony’s brow furrowed in confusion and he looked at Steve for a moment, assessing him for something. He lifted his gaze and looked over Steve’s shoulder at Bucky, Steve twisting to look at him too.

“In the meeting,” Steve said, dismissing Bucky when he shrugged and turning back to Tony. “It was a department meeting. You should have been there; you’re in the department. Where were you?”

 There was a long moment of silence where Tony squinted at him again and Steve got the distinct feeling that he had missed something vital. When he spun around again to look at Bucky, his friend lifted his hands in surrender and shook his head, a grin on his face.

“Don’t look at me, punk,” he said as he turned on his heel and walked away, “not my fault you’re an oblivious idiot.”

Steve frowned in offence. He wasn’t oblivious. Or an idiot, for that matter. He said as much as he turned back to Tony, earning himself a small smile. Okay, he was definitely missing something.

“I don’t work for the department,” Tony finally said.

“What?” Steve’s brain was spinning. Tony  _did_ work for the department; they’d worked together since Steve had started with the company. They were colleagues. What was Tony talking about? Wait… no, he hadn’t… “You haven’t  _quit_?” he blurted out, his heart suddenly racing and a shiver going down his spine. “Tony, have you left?”

“No!” Tony laughed, disbelief colouring his tone. “Are you serious?”

“What?” Man, what was Steve missing? Was he really so work-obsessed that he had missed something this big?

“I work for the R&D department now.”

Steve’s mouth fell open. “Wait, you got a promotion? What? When?”

“Are you serious?”

Never mind asking if Steve was serious, was  _Tony_ serious? He got a promotion?

_“When?”_

“Like two months ago? Steve, you came to my celebration party.”

“That was for your merger!” Steve protested, “the one you got when you… oh.”

“Yeah,  _oh.”_ Tony rolled his eyes and sighed. “I thought you knew! You bought me a card!”

“For the merger! It was a huge deal and I was proud of you!”

Steve fell silent as he absorbed the new information. Tony really didn’t work in his department?

“So you really didn’t know?”

“No! Of course I didn’t know, Tony. You’re always in my office! You’re still always on our floor – how was I meant to know you don’t work for us anymore?”

“Well, the two departments are gonna be working closely together, so that’s why I’m always there. That and the fact that I want to see you.”

Despite Tony’s voice dropping to a mumble and his gaze falling to floor where his feet were shuffling awkwardly, Steve heard the words as clearly as if Tony had shouted them from the rooftops.

“I thought you knew I’d gone and didn’t really care.”

Steve held out his hand. “Do you really think I wouldn’t have done anything if I’d have known you weren’t my boss anymore?”

Tony’s head shot up and he stared at Steve in hesitant hope. “So that means you…” Tony hesitated and Steve smiled widely.

Steve didn’t bother to answer verbally. Instead he surged forward and caught Tony’s lips with his own, the kiss soft and sweet and yet passionate all at once. Steve’s hands framed Tony’s face as he tilted him just enough to swipe his tongue over Tony’s lips, tasting coffee and a doughnut and a flavour so wonderfully _Tony_ that he wanted it forever.

“There’s no rule against this, right?” Steve whispered when they broke apart, Tony’s mouth still close enough that his breath tickled Steve’s lips.

“No,” Tony whispered back just as quietly, his eyes fluttering open, “I’m no longer in your department.”

“Okay. That’s good.” Steve’s reply was barely out of his mouth before his lips sealed over Tony’s once more and no more words were spoken.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so so sorry. Please stick around. I swear they're going to get better. Honestly, I have a nice one coming up.


End file.
